Samples of insertion machines of the type with which the present invention is designed to be synchronously coupled are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,325,455; 3,368,321; in assignee's U.S. Pat. No. 4,604,849 entitled INSERTION MACHINE and in assignee's U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,312 entitled PRINTING APPARATUS FOR INSERTION MACHINE.
An insertion machine of the type referred to above is adapted to collect a plurality of inserts and deposit them into a single pile and transport that pile to a stuffing station, simultaneously convey an open envelope to the same stuffing station, and then stuff the pile of inserts into the envelope. The envelope with inserts inside is then sealed and processed for mailing. It can be appreciated that all operating elements of the insertion machine are synchronously timed in accordance with a given machine cycle.
The operation of such devices can be defined in greater detail by referral to the above-indicated patents.
One use of the insertion machine is to prepare monthly billing statements to be sent to users of credit systems. In a typical system, the billing statements are computer generated on continuous form paper. The mailing envelope received by such credit system users may include that particular billing statement plus several addition documents advertising other products or services and usually a return envelope.
The person or entity preparing the envelopes containing the computer generated monthly billing statements may desire to encode the return envelope with certain indicia, denoting special circumstances noted in the billing statement such as significant payment receipts, delinquent accounts, dating of receivables, or the like. This information can be encoded in a "bar code" on one side of the envelope, the bar code comprising a series of long and short bars of varying widths, for example, which can be printed on each return envelope prior to its being gripped for delivery and insertion at a station on the transport raceway. Since the data to be placed on each return envelope will vary, depending on the status of each individual account represented by the specific statement placed in the mailing envelope, it is desirable to provide an insertion machine which has the capability of imprinting a different bar code on each envelope, if necessary, and to synchronize the printing of the individualized bar code with data appearing on each individual statement. In an exemplary apparatus, the data to be imprinted on the return envelope is derived from an optically-scanned format of the billing statement itself. This information is transmitted electronically or optically to the printing apparatus which imprints the appropriate bar code on the return envelope which will eventually be inserted into a billing envelope with its corresponding billing statement.
By imprinting the return envelopes with specified indicia, these return envelopes are capable of rapid and efficient sorting upon receipt by the payee. Thus, by providing a device for imprinting information in the form of a bar code, or other indicia, on a return envelope, down stream return sorting capability by the payee, for example, is greatly enhanced.